Eligibility for SESA’s Multiple Disabilities Services:

The Multiple Disabilites Program serves students in the following state disability categories: (For the specific requirements of each, view the Evaluation and Eligibility Section of the State Special Education Handbook.)

• Moderate or Severe Mental Retardation
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Multiple Disabilities
• Other Health Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Preschool Developmental Delay

Services Provided by Multiple Disabilities

Assistance to districts in the rural and remote portions of the state is provided both on and off site. For example:

• Staff training through on-site and regional in-services related to best practices for educating students with moderate and severe disabilities addresses such issues as:
  • Functional Age Appropriate Curriculum
  • Inclusionary Strategies
  • Positive Behavior Supports
  • Community Based Instruction
  • Integrating Related Services
  • Transition Planning
  • Parental Involvement
  • Use of Assistive Technology Tools
• Assistance to districts in development and implementation of instructional
  programs
  • Assistance to districts in the development of appropriate educational programs
  • Conducting Ecological Inventories
  • Identifying Instructional Strategies
  • Selecting Instructional Materials
  • Selecting and Using Appropriate Assistive Technology Tools
• Assistance to district in securing information, equipment and resources
  through the use of the agency lending library, assistive technology lending
  library and other available resources
• Assistance to districts with inter-agency and cross-district networking

Staff Members

Kathy Marie Osinski, Education Specialist

The following Data Assessment presentation has been developed using the PowerPoint program. It can be downloaded and used with an LCD projector or easily transferred onto transparencies for overhead projection. The presentation time can vary from one hour for a lecture presentation to three or more hours for an activity-based presentation with group discussion. Detailed presenters notes are provided supporting the important information highlighted on each slide.

View Text-Only Version of Data Assessment on the web (suitable for screen-readers).

DOWNLOAD:

• Powerpoint file:
  Data Assessment PowerPoint Presentation
  • • PDF file:
      COMING SOON

In response to a request from an Alaska school district, SESA Education Specialists Doyle Burnett and Kathy Privratsky developed a full-day training presentation providing information and techniques concerning student behaviors and teaching. That training was presented to the school district’s entire special education staff on April 2, 2004.

For archival purposes, the entire presentation (agenda and main content) is being preserved. Hopefully, the Powerpoint outline from this presentation can be a tool to help others interested in learning about supports and strategies that can greatly benefit students with varying degrees of disability.

The links below provide two options for viewing the Powerpoint slides from this presentation.

What Lies Beneath – how behavior impacts our teaching
Download: PowerPoint File (116 K) Continue Reading

PowerPoint version

Flash Presentation

PDF

Presented by Rob LeFebvre, Education Specialist

Quicktime Movie File

Adobe PDF File

Microsoft Powerpoint

Macromedia Flash File (loads a new web page)

Additional information:

• SESA Newsletter Fall 2006 Reference Shelf – When Students Have Severe Disabilities
• Instructional Strategies for Students with Significant Disabilities
• Bibliography of Materials on Severe Disabilities

Doyle Burnett, Education Specialist
and
Kathy Privratsky, Assistive Technology Coordinator

Over the years, there have been many wonderful articles written about the use of visual supports for students with varying disabilities. In recent years, many of the viable visual support strategies that were used with students and individuals with significant mental challenges have found their way into benefiting the lives of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In all cases, visual support strategies are extremely beneficial for all students, regardless of disability.

What is a visual schedule and mini-picture communication board?

Simply put, a visual schedule and mini-picture communication board is a strategy of combining a “typical” visual schedule system with the corresponding communication symbols that would be used in any given activity throughout a student’s school-day. Obviously, this same system/strategy can be used with individuals who may not be in a school setting (home, church and other community environments).

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